Text Size

CONTRACT TOWER SAFETY NUMBERS PEELED BACK: Bloomberg’s Alan Levin scoops on some recent FAA internal studies that show in the vast majority of airports with contract towers, safety numbers did not change pre- and post-tower. The numbers are right in line with DOT Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA Administrator’s op-ed earlier this week that said closing down the contract towers would not decrease safety but could make things less efficient at airports affected by the sequester cuts to tower contracts. The study of more than 200 towers found 615 crashes occurred near airports in the five years before the contracted towers opened while 618 such crashes happened in the five years after the towers opened. But as we reported earlier this week, many communities want towers to stay open for the economic benefits like keep aviation businesses going, more so than from safety concerns. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/XP2qCE

At odds: An AAAE study finds that the “cumulative hazard to aviation safety and lost efficiencies” from closing the towers would hit $2.5 billion over the next six month, including as many as 216 lives lost, 101 destroyed aircraft and thousands of additional flight hours due to inefficient use of airspace. http://bit.ly/14FPl1s

A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT A NATIONAL CONVERSATION: AAA chief Robert Darbelnet is warning that America isn’t ready to have a national debate on a VMT fee to replace the gas tax, even though policy makers agree it’s a good long-term fix to structural imbalances in federal revenues and spending. “The federal government playing the lead role to implement VMT and quickly bring the concept to a nationwide market might actually do more harm than good,” Darbelnet wrote in Public Administration Review. Darbelnet was rebutting a policy paper (http://bit.ly/17dzA1l) in the review from two Indiana University professors issued who argued that “if the federal government takes the lead, many states are likely to follow” a path toward VMT. The professors, Denvil Duncan and Public and Environmental Affairs Dean John Graham, say drivers could self-report their car odometer readings or use a third party to tabulate mileage each year, which would alleviate the government tracking concerns. Burgess reads the papers so you don’t have to: http://politico.pro/XNGMyy

VIRGINIA IS FOR TRANSPORT LOVERS: Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s tweaks to lower some fees and tax rates in his transport compromise bill did the trick — the amended bill passed both chambers. The saga that brought out opposition from Grover Norquist and GOP gubernatorial candidate and Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli has now come to a close. Or has it?

Laying groundwork: The Examiner caught up with Dem governor candidate Terry McAuliffe as he lobbied Richmond Democrats to approve the transportation bill. He indicated that should he win this fall, the transport situation could be revisited. “As governor we can come back and work on some of those things,” he said he told Democrats. http://bit.ly/13RTTCD

TIGER GRANTS LIVE: Avoiding yet another attempt to zero them out, DOT’s TIGER grant program will see another round of funding this year, MT confirmed. The $500 million program has taken a slight haircut due to sequestration, so $474 million will be dispensed at some point. A DOT official said it’s too early to say when the grants will be distributed; they dropped in late June last year.

FIRST LOOK — US Airways and NextGen: US Airways will announce today that it’s the first airline to win FAA certification on its Airbus A330 planes for SafeRoute, a series of four “flight deck applications” that are part of the broad effort to upgrade to NextGen. The apps will use the ADS-B system that’s installed on the planes and is a key part of the NextGen effort. “US Airways and our other airline partners understand and embrace the opportunities and savings ADS-B provides for operators,” said Terry Flaishans, president of one of the tech companies that partnered with the airline.

A REASONED REPLY: NATCA sent over a response to the new Reason study on air traffic control facility consolidation. The tower group “supports facility consolidations and realignments where they enhance operational services and the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System.” NATCA is “collaborating” on the new New York integrated control facility. “We also support the implementation of NextGen as a way to modernize the system over the long term. Unfortunately, sequestration is hampering these critical efforts,” NATCA said.

MAILBAG — ASCE backs Casey water bill: The American Society of Civil Engineers is endorsing Bob Casey’s inland waterways investment bill. “Increasing the user fee on the inland waterways system from 20 cents per gallon to 29 cents is long overdue and will allow for an increase in overall spending on the system,” ASCE lobbyist Brian Pallasch wrote to Casey. “Hopefully the RIVER Act can work with WRDA legislation in order to more robustly fund inland waterway systems.” The Senate is expected to work on the river Trust Fund when the bill comes to the floor this spring. Pros get the letter: http://politico.pro/16oA4yu

GIVE KIDS A BOOST: Most parents already know it, but MT considers this a public service mission: You should be using a booster seat for your kids — even if they’re six or seven years old and want to sit like a grown-up. NHTSA’s 2011 version of the National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats, released Wednesday, finds that fewer kids are riding with just seat belts and more are using a boost seat with the seat belt. For kids aged 4-7, the seat belt-only crowd fell from 32 percent in 2009 to 25 percent in 2011, the study found. NHTSA’s conclusion: “...parents are increasingly following NHTSA recommendations and not graduating their children prematurely to seat belts.” More: http://1.usa.gov/10w0z3a

DENIED: FMCSA has denied applications from Mexican trucking companies Transportes Mor SA de CV and Adriana De Leon Amaro to take part in the cross-border trucking program, the agency says in a notice in today’s Federal Register. The two carriers did not pass a pre-authorization safety audit. http://1.usa.gov/YT62CE

PI THEFT — US Airways boosts lobbying outreach: The airline has added Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to its roster of lobbyists, according to Senate lobbying disclosures.. The company spent $2.8 million on lobbying the federal government in 2012, when it had Ogilvy Government Relations, Podesta Group, The Cormac Group and Vandor Strategies on retainer.

MT POLL — Pedal power over gas power? We want to know if two wheels ever replace four — or more on a Metro or bus. MT readers; Do you ever use a bike for errands or commuting (i.e. other than pleasure)? Let us know by Sunday at noon: http://poll.fm/462dj

- Former Caltrans head Will Kempton started his new job at the Transportation California advocacy group this week. More info: http://bit.ly/XO1BtN

THE COUNTDOWN: Sequestration has been in effect for 35 days and it’s been 65 days since Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced his departure. DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 180 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 548 days and FAA policy in 910 days. The mid-term elections are in 579 days.

CABOOSE — Senator caboose: A caboose as our caboose — this shot from circa 1930 features “The Senator” rail car with some senatorial-looking men in suits. Shorpy:http://bit.ly/XY9ubG

** WANT MORE NEWS? For breaking news and customized alerts on defense, energy, financial services, health care, tax, technology and transportation throughout the day, you should GO PRO. With sector-specific coverage, early-bird editions of POLITICO's must-read morning newsletters, customized instant alerts sent to your mobile device and special subscriber-only events, you won't miss a beat. See what you've been missing: www.politicopro.com **

CORRECTION: A previous version of Morning Transportation misstated the results of a AAAE study.